Discussions about what comprises the best education and training for effective classroom teachers pretty much skip over the opportunities that exist to recruit the very students who move through the classrooms during their K-12 years. More than ample attention is being given to the roles of schools of education, liberal arts degrees, military and business professionals, incentive compensation, and professional development in the broader efforts to attract, prepare, and hire teaching professionals. Even as we design K-12 curriculums to educate and inspire our youth for all kinds of careers and life choices, we seem to be ignoring the reality that elementary and secondary educators have access to perhaps the largest pool of prospective teachers for twelve of their formative years. Unlike almost any other significant adult in the lives of young people, educators are in the strongest position to not only plant a lasting seed in the minds of students as it relates to teaching but also to promote the teaching profession alongside the many other career and vocational interests being considered by their students. Even as they develop the full extent of their students’ intellect and abilities, schools should make better use of their access to the talent pool that exists in K-12 student bodies across the country, especially at the high school level.

As curriculum specialists design internships and apprenticeships for high schoolers as they move closer to career and postsecondary decisions, they should be creating ways for students to practice or assist with teaching, lead small group discussions, and even develop a homework assignment based on the week’s topics. Each of these activities could give students a sense for what it’s like to be a classroom teacher. Surely schools could offer a course or two designed for those who might be interested in K-12 teaching in the near future. High school students should be allowed to choose electives that grant them school credit for serving as classroom assistants or in the role of a paraprofessional. Other options might include receiving credit or compensation for part-time classroom work afterschool or during the summer break. Whether a student proceeds to postsecondary education or not, alternative means of training can be developed for prospective teachers, to account for the kinds of courses routinely offered at the college level or a graduate school of education. Bridge curriculums or certifications coupled with comprehensive teacher development can provide high school and college graduates with the additional training needed to prepare for classroom success.

Laying a foundation for a teaching career as students prepare to graduate from high school seems appropriate when you consider the volume of information and choices being made available to high school graduates about so many other careers. School officials need to be more proactive in their promotion of and recruiting for the teaching profession, and not sit by idly as colleges, universities, professional schools, companies, and organizations appeal to the hopes, interests and dreams of the very students who just left high school. If the profession is ever going to be elevated to the status that it deserves, then we must prepare and inform our youth about it, just as we do for the other professions. School officials should not have to apologize for exposing the benefits of a teaching career to their students. The profession needs educators who do a world class job of both educating our youth in the classroom and promoting teaching as a viable and attractive career choice in the larger public square.